I'm finally here!

[calisota]

Hi Guys,

I'm here! I am now sitting in a hotel literally walking distance from the park entrance. Tomorrow I'm getting the complimentary bus and spending my first day immersed in Disney.

Any suggestions on which park to visit first or any other suggestions for me?

Greg

[sandie]

Why not Magic Kingdom? Get straight into the magic! Our favourite this trip was Animal Kingdom though.

Have fun!!!!!!!

Sandie

[calisota]

I was figuring Magic Kingdom, partly because it must be the most "Disney" of the parks and a good starter and also because that's where the free shuttle drops me off.

Which brings me to my next question: If I get dropped off at the Magic kingdom how do I then make my way to another park if that's where I want to spend the day? I have a 10 day pass so I can spend 2 days in 2 parks and 3 days in the other 2.

Greg

[sandie]

To get to EPCOT from Magic Kingdom (vice versa too): Catch a monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Cenre, then monorail to Epcot. Ask to sit up front with the driver

To get from Epcot to Disney Studios (vice versa too): outside the world showcase exit catch a boat, at the Studios its just outside the park entrance

Between all others you can either:

a. get to the ticket and transportation centre and change buses.
b. go to downtown disney and catch a bus

but the best is catch a bus to any resort and then catch a bus to yor next park - BONUS - you get to see the disney resorts plus you can grab a meal on your way through

[calisota]

I have a feeling that while I might know intellectually how big this place is in reality I have no concept. Hopefully by the time I'm finished I'll be an old hand at it.

My next question: I bought a 10 day ticket at the reception desk here and she said I had to swap it for a "hard ticket" when I get to the park. Do I do this at the "ticket and transportation centre"?

Greg

[calisota]

Hi Guys,

Just got back from a day at the Magic Kingdom and I have a question of the experts on this list.

Where can I find the better souvenirs? I mean the books and collectible things and by that I mean the manly ones, not the snow globes. There was/is a place above the Pirates of the Caribbean entrance at Disneyland that sold "Art of..." type stuff, this is what I mean if you know what I mean. A location for each of the parks would be appreciated if they exist.

Greg

[sandie]

The best ones are Art of Disney at EPCOT just off to the side of Spaceship Earth and the Art of Disney at Downtown Disney.

I also like the shop in MK near Hall of Presidents, Sid's One of a Kind and the Villian Shop (Candy Cauldron) in Disney Studios, MouseGears at Epcot and all the shops at Animal Kingdom.

And yes it is huge - just crossing a carpark is exhausting!

[calisota]

The shuttle bus from the hotel dropped me off at the Transportation and Ticket Centre and I was amazed just how far it is from there to the entrance of a park. Then I found a book called "The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom" and it explained why and the concept behind it.

I had to do a little bit of a double take when you called them shops! I have been speaking American for so long that I was automatically thinking "store". I must have missed the one at MK since I deliberately avoided The Hall of Presidents" in a minor protest at my total immersion in Americana lately.

I'll check out the shop you've recommended at Epcot today because I have a feeling that's where I might head...unless I get the urge to go somewhere else. Oh the worry of all these decisions.

Greg

[KeithS]

Wow - awesome Greg. It so good to see that you've finally touched down in WDW after all this time!

Yep - The Art of store in Epcot was my favourite, followed by its cousin in Downtown Disney.

Keep the updates coming!

[calisota]

I have now visited all of the parks once and decided to take today off (I had a spare day) to do laundry and catch up on a couple of things. It's p***ing down with rain at the moment so it may have been a good decision on my part. It's rained a couple of times later at night but today is the first time its rained during the day.

I have another 6 days left on my pass so I can visit each park again once and then two of them for a third time, I just have to decide which ones will get the third visit. At the moment I'm leaning towards MGM and MK.

The Art Of Disney was great and just what I was looking for. A couple of books and a piece of artwork later...

Mousegears was good too, I got enough stuff in there to qualify for a throw rug at only $15. I was a bit skeptical about it until I got back here and opened it up and it turned out to be about 5 foot square with a mickey (hey, it was cheap) and all the park logos woven into it. It's even a colour to match my decor at home despite the mouse.

I've avoided the pin craze so far with the exception of a set of 4 park pins but I wonder how much longer I'm going to be able to resist and the collector in me takes over. There are pins everywhere and the desire to collect them all would become overwhelming if I let it.

Greg

[alice in wonderland]

Hi Greg

I am so jealous!!!!! i still have 62 days to wait.

Have you dined at any resturants yet?

Did you take a computer with you????

Enjoy your day off and i hope the rain stops!

Love Jess

[calisota]

Hi Greg

I am so jealous!!!!! i still have 62 days to wait.

I hate to have to think about it but in 62 days I will have been home and then come back here again, assuming that I decide to take another contract on the ships again. Of course that means that I could conceivably be back at WDW 7 months from now.

Have you dined at any resturants yet?

No. I have eaten at the Rose and Crown English pub at Epcot and was pretty impressed. A Guinness and the plowman's lunch went down really well. Other than that I've just stuck to the fast food places around the parks and the Mickey mouse ice creams. There is something so satisfying about biting his little ears off.

Did you take a computer with you????

I have my laptop with me but I haven't taken it to the parks if that's what you mean. I've taken so many photos so far that I am storing them on an external harddrive as well as burning them to DVD's (which will be packed in a different bag to the harddrive in case one goes missing) because there is no way I could have stored them all on the cameras memory or even the laptop drive.

Enjoy your day off and I hope the rain stops!

I hope it stops as well. The weather report calls for scattered storms all week so I hope I can dodge them.

Greg

[sandie]

You know if you visit a park when it is raining you will find much smaller crowds. When we did the Pirate and Princess Party in the rain there would have been about 600 people in the whole park - even though it was a sold out event

Sandie

[calisota]

You know if you visit a park when it is raining you will find much smaller crowds. When we did the Pirate and Princess Party in the rain there would have been about 600 people in the whole park - even though it was a sold out event

Sandie

I've been looking at a couple of websites that have suggestions on what to do if it rains and they said the same thing about the lack of crowds. The rain itself doesn't worry me, it's a warm rain rather than a cold one and my new camera is weatherproof (it claims) so no problems there. The suggestion was that Animal Kingdom isn't the park to see in the rain though since so much of it is outside and what animal in its right mind is going to stand out in the rain. MGM or Mk would probably be the preferred ones since so much more of them are inside.

Of course smaller crowds mean I may be able to get into a restaurant without a booking...maybe.

Greg

[calisota]

Has anyone ever noticed anyone eating on their own in one of the restaurants? I wonder if I would feel a bit self conscious at a table by myself.

Greg